Feels like home.By John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time"
Ordinarily a French character-driven tragicomedy such as A Christmas Tale would garner an A from me because of its intricate plot, interesting characters, and lingering shots. But I must award it a B based on the daunting narrative threads that make it an exercise in keeping track through half the film until you've got the relationships down.
Perhaps I'm judging this tale against other international films and not the less daunting American ones, such as Rachel Getting Married or Pieces of April, both of which take a family celebration as a chance for catharsis and reconciliation. All are admirable; it's just that the French get the subtle and powerful forces of family intrigue just right, whereas the American cousins use a blunter instrument.
The Vuillard family, headed by Junon (Catherine Deneuve), has so many issues, physical and mental, that I don't have room for the delineation. For sure, Junon has a cancer that someone in the family will need to fight with a bone marrow extraction. As such, the sickness is an easy metaphor for the moribund family itself, whose notable members include the former outcast Henri (Mathieu Amalric), ironically the bone-marrow donor. He and his mother, Junon, never got along, so the healing process is figurative as well.
He is just the beginning of the eccentric lineup, which is also figuratively treated with director Arnaud Desplechin's innumerable cinematic flourishes, a few of which follow: irises, split screens, shadow puppetry, quotes fro Shakespeare and Emerson, and classic film references such as The Ten Commandments and Vertigo.
I suppose the youngsters' plan to bring family peace through this Christmas fete is successful, but I have the feeling the same old irritations will return, perhaps more virile than ever. Feels just like home.
John DeSando teaches film at Franklin University and co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time and Cinema Classics shows, which can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand anytime at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com